Ryan Air.  They’ve been in the news somewhat of late.

Some of you may have come across a survey recently on the Ryan Air Website, where they have been asking customers if they would be happy to stand up on flights of 1 hour duration or less.

Once again, this suggestion has been ridiculed as another cost saving measure publicity stunt which makes us wonder if Ryan Air might start charging for optional extras such as wings and jet engines.

Ryan Air has also been copping a bit of stick for wanting to charge customers to use the toilet on a ‘Number 1 or Number 2’ basis.  Too bad if you’ve had a dodgy curry the night before – the trips to the toilet may cost more than the actual air fare itself!

Anyway, the Ryan Air ‘Standing Up Survey’ introduction says ‘Ryanair, the World’s favourite airline, today (9th July) launched an online poll to ask if  passengers would ‘stand’ on short flights if it meant they could travel for FREE, or pay 50% less than seated passengers. Ryanair is gauging passenger demand for its ‘vertical seating’ which will allow passengers to travel – for free – in a secure upright position on short flights of approximately one hour.’

I had a look at the survey of only 3 questions – If you really want to, you can take the survey at the Ryan Air website.

To be fair, I’ve thought a bit laterally and come up with some potential advantages of the ‘Standing Up On A Plane’ theory to help Ryan Air with their marketing of this unique idea.

So here they are: The Top 10 Potential Benefits of Standing Up On A Plane:

1. The risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis is virtually eliminated.
2. You can do a great Hannibal Lector impression if you wear your gimp mask on board.  Double points for saying ‘I would like some liver washed down with an Italian chianti’.
3. You can stretch out your arms horizontally and yell out ‘I am the Messiah!’  This would be even more effective if you have a beard.
4. If the plane does actually crash, you won’t ever have to move into the brace position.
5. The chance of spilling your dodgy airplane food on your lap has been significantly reduced.
6. There’s no way that the annoying kid behind you will ever kick you in the back again.
7. You can gain an appreciation of how it feels to be ‘secured’ in a mental asylum.
8. You might get some great ideas for the bedroom from being strapped into your ‘seat’.
9. If the plane does crash, you could watch the Domino Effect of people toppling over the next person. And finally:
10. If the plane is hijacked, the hijackers can’t say ‘Stay In Your Seat!’.

How about you?  Would you rather stand up on a plane if this meant your Ryan Air flight was free or 50% off?

Leave a comment and share your views!

I guess these stunts from Ryanair have made the airline successful.  You can read more about the Ryanair story at Ryanair: The Full Story of the Controversial Low-Cost Airline.

Once you’ve finished your Standing Up flight, you can try my 52 Offbeat Travel Tips, or 52 Travel Tips for Weird Food and Drinks.